MANAGER'S REPORT by Warren Moore

Greetings to you and your family, I hope you had a wonderfully peaceful and blessed Christmas period. May 2008 bring you plenty of happiness and prosperity.

Kings Camp is proud to say that 2007 showed our highest occupancy levels in our twelve-year history. Already the bookings are flying in for 2008 with Christmas already fully booked. If you are planning a visit this year to see us I would suggest you make a booking soon.

2007 was not only a great year for business but a great year for the staff as well. The entire team of 50 employees remained unchanged, which tells you that Kings Camp, is not only a great place to visit but also a great place to live and work with wonderful colleagues.

At the end of November, we were proud to unveil our two new honeymoon suites (Room No 10 & 11) at the camp. A local builder built both suites from the Accornhoek Area just to the south of the reserve. At Kings Camp, we endeavor to support the local communities thus providing upliftment in the community. The rooms are absolutely gorgeous with an open plan bathroom, lounge and bedroom area. The “loo” is obviously private. For all those honeymooners or romantic couples, please remember to request these rooms when making a booking.

KINGS CAMP STAFF CHILDREN PARTY by Patrick O'Brien

For the second year running now I have with the help of the staff members and guests at Kings Camp given the children of the staff members a Christmas party.

Over the Christmas School holiday period, the children of the staff spend the festive season with their parents at the lodge. Most of the Staff at Kings Camp resides in neighbouring villages but due to the remoteness of the camp, they live on the premises during working shifts. It is during their off days that they head back home to their villages. During this time, the children stay at home to go to school but visit the lodge over the Christmas period.

Most of these children live in rural areas with very little if any basic resources like electricity and running water. Most of them have never had a birthday or Christmas Party in their lives. My heart goes out to these Kids and it was in 2006 that I decided to initiate the annual party. I purchased a selection of sweets, crisps, popcorn and cool drinks. Past guest. Lorna Mfata who visited the camp during 2007 very generously sent a huge parcel of books; pencils toys and hundreds of goodies children would love.

The chefs contributed by baking cup cakes and Mirriam was made chief in charge of the Party planning. Thomas Mhlaba was given the DJ duty of playing music with a real African theme.

The party was a great success with all the kids having a wonderful party to remember. To see the faces of the children light up with absolute joy is a picture I will savour forever. As they say, a child is innocent. It easily happens that one forgets about others during the festive season. Often we are so caught up in our own world that we forget that the basic things that we are surrounded with are taken for granted.

I would like to take the opportunity to thank the following people,
Loran and Pisto Mfata – Guest 2007
Daniella Csar – AST –Reisen
Julia and Rembert – Guests 2007
Melinda van Staden – Chef Kings Camp
Merriam Mkhatshwa – Laundry supervisor.
Rachel and friends- Guests 2007

RANGER'S REPORT by Patrick O’Brien Head ranger

December is a festive month filled with happiness, celebration and friendship.

It has been a long and productive game-viewing year at Kings Camp with wonderful and interesting wildlife memories. Some of those memories include:
• The birth of six lion cubs that have grown and developed in to predators that fit perfectly into the balance of life in the bushveld.
• The Sohobele lionesses losing one of their 6 cubs at the end of the year in a freak crocodile attack.
• The two leopard cubs from the Nharalumi female reaching independence and now fast on their way to becoming adults themselves.

This is the life in African bush; it always keeps one inspired with her magical Essence. 2008 promises to be equally as exciting.

Lion

The game viewing has once again been nothing less than magnificent with an intense period of big cat sightings, namely lions.

The Sohobele lionesses are trying hard to keep up with the appetites of their very demanding cubs. I have never seen lionesses hunting in broad daylight so frequently as with these lionesses in order to provide for their offspring. The conditions are also difficult at the moment due to the strong and healthy state of the general game. Good rain ensures that the vegetation remains lush and dense. This means the health state of the general game is good which intern makes them fitter, faster and naturally more difficult to catch.

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Fortunately natural selection seems to favour those that pay attention and occasionally one sluggish impala becomes dinner.

Leopard

My favourite cat is the elusive leopard. This month the leopards of Kings Camp have put on a show that keeps on getting better. The most impressive leopard of the month must be the resident male “Macujani”. This impressive tom is on a roll when it comes to feeding and never appears to be in a poor state. In fact at every single sighting we had of him in December he was eating or had just finished eating.

A sighting of importance was when he killed an adult female Kudu. Kudu antelope are large and bulky antelopes and are general not considered to be prey for a leopard. But “Macujani” has proven time and time again that there seems to be almost no limit to the size of antelope adult males will occasionally take.

We suspect the kill was made just after we left the tom on a morning drive close to the Machaton River. He was found that afternoon a mere 20 metres from the morning location with a Kudu carcass.

I assume that the Kudu might have walked past the sleeping tom and of course did not notice see him sleeping. The tom would have been hard to sport in the tall grass especially at this time of the year. Macujani must have seized the opportunity with open claws. The kill was swift with a bite to the throat. He fed for a full four days before letting the Hyenas have the scraps on the fifth day.

Snakes

Snakes seems to bring fear into most peoples lives. Just the mention of the word snake is enough to make some people climb onto the table. As common as they are, due to their shy nature they are seldom seem. Why are they amazing, well, for starters all their senses are acute, they strike fast and most importantly have managed to live and survive in close proximity with man since the beginning of time. Unfortunately certain species have become endangered.

One such specie is the African Rock Python the largest snake in Africa, averaging 3-5 meters in length with the record standing at close to 9 meters.

This large snake is solid and has two heat sensitive pits on each side of its head, which allows it to hunt in complete darkness. They are mainly nocturnal and are occasionally seen basking in the sun. This little guy we found on drive was a meter in length and caught his prey by ambushing it in the tall grass. The initial bite from the snake was so powerful that it shredded the skin of the rear leg of the hare. The snake killed the hare with in 2 minutes before it started to feed. Unfortunately our presence seemed to deter the snake from eating’s its prey and it sadly abounded it. I immediately left the area hoping that it would return. An hour later I noticed the hare had disappeared. I hope the snake took its prey and not some other predator.

Photography by Patrick O’Brien - Mandevo Photography.